New Testament – Biblical Studieshttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog
Making Biblical Scholarship AccessibleFri, 14 Dec 2018 13:00:50 +0000en-GBhourly173556694Commentary on 2 Peter and Jude by E.H. Plumptreehttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-2-peter-and-jude-by-e-h-plumptree/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-2-peter-and-jude-by-e-h-plumptree/#respondFri, 07 Dec 2018 00:01:03 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3996Edward Hayes Plumptre was Dean of Wells Cathedral. Wikipedia notes, Plumptre: …wrote much on the interpretation of scripture, endeavouring to combine and popularise, in no superficial fashion, the results attained by labourers in special sections of the subject. He contributed to the commentaries known respectively as the Cambridge Bible, the Speaker’s Commentary, that edited by ... Read more

…wrote much on the interpretation of scripture, endeavouring to combine and popularise, in no superficial fashion, the results attained by labourers in special sections of the subject. He contributed to the commentaries known respectively as the Cambridge Bible, the Speaker’s Commentary, that edited by Bishop Ellicott, and the Bible Educator. He also wrote Biblical Studies, 1870 (3rd edit. 1885), St. Paul in Asia (1877), a Popular Exposition of the Epistles to the Seven Churches (1877 and 1879), Movements in Religious Thought: Romanism, Protestantism, Agnosticism (1879), and Theology and Life (1884). His most remarkable theological work was The Spirits in Prison, and other studies on Life after Death (1884 and 1885). The book comprises a review of previous teaching on the subject of eschatology. His characteristic sympathy with ‘the larger hope’ is moderated throughout by a characteristic caution. He had passed beyond the influence of Maurice, and, though his loyal admiration for his earlier teacher remained unchanged, he had rejected his conclusions.

My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy of this public domain title for digitisation.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Text and Notes

Index

Introduction. The Training of the Disciple

The early years of the Apostle whose writings are now before us appear to have been passed in the village of Bethsaida (=Fishtown, or more literally Home of Fish), on the West coast of the Sea of Galilee, not far from Chorazin and Capernaum (John i. 44). Its exact position cannot be determined with any certainty, but it has been identified with the modern ‘Ain et Tabi’galt, and must be distinguished from the town of the same name on the North-Eastern shore of the Lake, which, after it had been enlarged and rebuilt by Philip the Tetrarch, was known as Bethsaida Julias, the latter name having been 1 given to it in honour of the daughter of the Emperor Augustus.

Among the fishermen from whose occupation the town derived its name was one who bore the name either of Jona (John i. 42; Matt. xvi. 17) or Joannes (in the best MSS. of John xxi. 15-17)…

]]>https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-2-peter-and-jude-by-e-h-plumptree/feed/03996Theology of the Letter to the Hebrews by George Milliganhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/theology-of-hebrews-by-george-milligan/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/theology-of-hebrews-by-george-milligan/#commentsFri, 16 Nov 2018 00:01:11 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3901The fact that George Milligan’s book on the theology of Hebrews is still being reprinted 119 years after it was published is a good indicator of its enduring value to Bible students. My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy of this public domain title for digitisation. George Milligan [1860-1934], The Theology of the ... Read more

Preface

The increasing interest that is being taken in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the ever-deepening feeling of its vital relation to some of the most pressing questions of our own time, must be pleaded in justification of the addition of another to the many books that have recently appeared dealing with it. And at the same time the author ventures to express the hope that the present volume will be found to fill a place hitherto unoccupied at least by any English writer on the subject. For while there are Critical Commentaries on the Epistle in abundance, and Expositions, both scholarly and popular, dealing with its teaching as a whole, he is not aware of any other book in English presenting that teaching in systematic form. He is painfully conscious how far short his own attempt comes of what such a study in Biblical Theology ought to be….

]]>https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/theology-of-hebrews-by-george-milligan/feed/33901Commentary on the Epistles of John by Alfred Plummerhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/epistles-of-john-alfred-plummer/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/epistles-of-john-alfred-plummer/#respondWed, 14 Nov 2018 00:01:18 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3957Alfred Plummer, master of University College Durham, was a prolific writer of biblical commentaries. He wrote the volumes on Luke, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians in the International Critical Commentary (ICC) old series, as well as four of the The Cambridge Bible for Schools series. My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy of ... Read more

Table of Contents

Introduction

Text and Notes

Appendices

Indices

The Last Years of S. John

A sketch of the life of S. John as a whole has been given in the Introduction to the Fourth Gospel. Here it will not be necessary to do more than retouch and somewhat enlarge what was there said respecting the closing years of his life, in which period, according to all probability, whether derived from direct or indirect evidence, our three Epistles were written. In order to understand the motive and ton,e of the Epistles, it is requisite to have some clear idea of the circumstances, local, moral, and intellectual, in the midst of which they were written.

(i) The Local Surroundings-Ephesus

Unless the whole history of the century which followed upon the destruction of Jerusalem is to be abandoned as chimerical and untrustworthy, we must continue to believe the almost universally accepted statement that S. John spent the last portion of his life in Asia Minor, and chiefly at Ephesus. The sceptical spirit which insists upon the truism that well-attested facts have nevertheless not been demonstrated with all the certainty of a proposition in Euclid, and contends that it is therefore right to doubt them, and lawful to dispute them, renders history impossible. The evidence of S. John’s residence at Ephesus is too , strong to be shaken by conjectures. It will be worth while to state the main elements of it.

]]>https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/epistles-of-john-alfred-plummer/feed/03957Commentary on Revelation by William Henry Simcoxhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/revelation-william-henry-simcox/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/revelation-william-henry-simcox/#respondFri, 09 Nov 2018 00:01:20 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3951The Reverend William Henry Simcox was the Rector of Harlaxton in Lincolnshire. This is his contribution to the Cambridge Bible for Schools series on the Book of Revelation. My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy of this public domain title for digitisation. William Henry Simcox [1843-1889], The Revelation of S. John the Divine ... Read more

Table of Contents

Introduction

Text and Notes

Appendices

Introduction: Authorship and Canonicity

In the case of some of the books of Scripture, the questions of their authorship and of their canonical authority are quite independent of one another. Many books are anonymous, many have their authors known only by a post-canonical tradition; and the rejection, in any case where it may be called for, of this tradition need not and ought not to involve a denial of the divine authority of the book. Even in cases where the supposed author is named or unmistakeably indicated in the book itself, it does not always follow that the book must either be written by him, or can owe none of its inspiration to the Spirit of truth: the person of the professed author may be assumed dramatically without any mala fides. On the other hand, there are books which plainly exclude any such hypothesis, and must either be forgeries, more or less excusable but hardly consistent with divine direction, or else must be accepted as genuine and inspired works of their professed authors.

]]>https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/revelation-william-henry-simcox/feed/03951Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles in 2 Volumes – Thomas M. Lindsayhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-acts-lindsay/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-acts-lindsay/#respondWed, 07 Nov 2018 00:01:01 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3940This is Thomas Martin Lindsay’s 2 Volume commentary on Acts. Lindsay is best known for his writings on the Reformation (see here and here for some examples). My thanks to Book Aid for making these public domain works available for digtisation. Thomas M. Lindsay [1802-1866], The Acts of the Apostles with Introduction, Notes and Maps, ... Read more

Introduction

In the more important MSS. of the New Testament, the title ls not ” The Acts of the Apostles,” but “Acts of Apostles,” and in one very important MS., the Sinaitic, the book is called simply “Acts.” These titles describe the book much better; it does not contain all the acts, nor even the principal acts of all the Apostles, but only a few selected deeds of some of the Apostles. It is a record of Apostolic Acts, not of the Acts of the Twelve Apostles. In this respect, the book may be fitly compared to the Gospels. They are not, nor do they pretend to be, a complete record of that Life of untiring activity which found “no leisure so much as to eat” (Mark vi. 31). They were written that the readers “might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God….

]]>https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-acts-lindsay/feed/03940Commentary on Hebrews by F.W. Farrarhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-hebrews-by-farrar/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-hebrews-by-farrar/#respondFri, 02 Nov 2018 00:01:54 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3937F.W. Farrar, latterly Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, is probably best known of his Life of Christ (1874). The title is somewhat misleading, being taken from title given to the letter by the KJV and Revised Version. In fact, Farrar argues at length that Apollos, rather than Paul, is the best known authorial candidate (see extract ... Read more

]]>F.W. Farrar, latterly Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, is probably best known of his Life of Christ (1874). The title is somewhat misleading, being taken from title given to the letter by the KJV and Revised Version. In fact, Farrar argues at length that Apollos, rather than Paul, is the best known authorial candidate (see extract below).

My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy of this public domain title for digitisation.

Introduction, pp.48-49.

Apollos meets every one of the necessary requirements. (1) He was a Jew. (2) He was a Hellenist. (3) He was an Alexandrian. (4) He was famed for his eloquence and his powerful method of applying Scripture. (5) He was a friend of Timotheus (6) He had ·acquired considerable authority in various Churches. (7) He had been taught b· an Apostle. (8) He was of the School of St Paul; yet (9) he adopted an independent line of his own (1 Cor. iii. 6). (10) We have no trace that he was ever at Jerusalem; and yet, we may add to the above considerations, that his style of argument-like that of the writer of this Epistle was specially effective as addressed to Jewish hearers. The writer’s boldness of tone (Acts xviii. 26) and his modest self-suppression (1 Cor. xvi. 12) also point to Apollos. The various allusions to Apollos are found in Acts xviii. 24-28; 1 Cor. iii. 4-6, xvi. 12; Tit. iii. 13; and in every single particular they agree with such remarkable cogency in indicating to us a Christian whose powers, whose training, whose character, and whose entire circumstances would have marked him out as a man likely to have written such a treatise as the one before us, that we may safely arrive at the conclusion either that AP0LLOS wrote the Epistle or that it is the work of some author who is to us entirely unknown.

]]>https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-hebrews-by-farrar/feed/03937Commentary on Matthew by Frank Marshallhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-matthew-by-frank-marshall/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-matthew-by-frank-marshall/#respondWed, 31 Oct 2018 00:01:07 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3919The Reverend Frank Marshall, the British schoolmaster, cleric and rugby administrator, wrote a whole series of commentaries for students preparing for their University entrance examinations (see here for a list). I am planning to make them all available as and when I gain access to printed copies. My thanks to Book Aid for providing access ... Read more

]]>https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-matthew-by-frank-marshall/feed/03919Commentary on the Gospel of Luke by F.W. Farrarhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-luke-by-farrar/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/commentary-on-luke-by-farrar/#respondFri, 26 Oct 2018 00:01:27 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3915This is another of the Cambridge Bible for Schools series, a commentary on the Gospel of Luke by F.W. Farrar. My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy for digitisation. This title is in the public domain. Frederic William Farrar [1831-1903], The Gospel According to Luke with Maps, Notes and Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University ... Read more

]]>This is another of the Cambridge Bible for Schools series, a commentary on the Gospel of Luke by F.W. Farrar. My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy for digitisation. This title is in the public domain.

Introduction, Chapter 1

The word Gospel is the Saxon translation of the Greek Euangelion. In early Greek (e.g. in Homer) this word meant the reward given to one who brought good tidings. In Attic Greek it also meant a sacrifice for good tidings but was always used in the plural euangelia. In later Greek, as in Plutarch and Lucian, euangeli’on meant the good news actually delivered. Among all Greek-speaking Christians the word was naturally adopted to describe the best and gladdest tidings ever delivered to the human race, the good news of the Kingdom of God. In the address of the Angel to the shepherds we find the words “I bring you good tidings of great joy,” where the verb used is euangelizomai. From this Greek word are derived the French Evangile, the Italian Evangelio, the Portuguese Evangelio, &c. Naturally the word which signified “good news” soon came to be used as the title of the books which contained the history of that good news….

]]>https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/caribbean-journal-of-evangelical-theology-vol-18-2019-on-line/feed/03960Handley Moule on Romans, Colossians and Philemonhttps://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/handley-moule-on-romans-colossians-and-philemon/
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/handley-moule-on-romans-colossians-and-philemon/#respondWed, 10 Oct 2018 00:01:00 +0000https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/blog/?p=3861Handley Moule was Bishop of Durham (1901–1920). He was prolific author and contributed several volumes to the Cambridge Bible for Schools and College series (1891-98). The noted Cambridge theologian C.F.D. Moule was his grand-nephew. My thanks to Book Aid for providing two of Moule’s commentaries for digitisation. These volumes are in the public domain. Handley ... Read more

Handley Moule was Bishop of Durham (1901–1920). He was prolific author and contributed several volumes to the Cambridge Bible for Schools and College series (1891-98). The noted Cambridge theologian C.F.D. Moule was his grand-nephew.

My thanks to Book Aid for providing two of Moule’s commentaries for digitisation. These volumes are in the public domain.

Introduction (from Romans Commentary

“Saul, who is also called Paul,” was born at Tarsus, the capital of the province of Cilicia, and one of the three great Academies (Athens, Alexandria, Tarsus,) of the classic world. His father was a Jew, a Benjamite; one of the great orthodox-patriotic party of the Pharisees; a “Hebrew,” in the special sense of a maintainer of Hebrew customs and of the use (within his own household) of the Aramaic language; and, finally, a Roman citizen. This citizenship was no result of the “freedom” of Tarsus; for civic “freedom,” under the Empire, implied no more at the most than municipal self-government and exemption from public taxation. Saul’s father may have been the freedman of a Roman noble; or he may have received citizenship in reward for political services during the great Civil Wars; or, just possibly, he may have bought the privilege….